Tree stands, or tree climbers, may be configured to grasp upright columnar members for example, trees, poles or the like, and more particularly, to stands formed of two climbing members or frames which are alternately raised by the user to attain a desired elevation on the upright columnar member. A two climbing member tree stand may be of a manually adjusting type or of a self-adjusting type which permit adjustment of the spacing of the grasping members so as to effect adjustment of the angle of each tree climber relative to the upright columnar member.
Tree stands may be convertible to a cart for carrying game or other materials. The use of various types of tree stands convertible to carts is known in the prior art, however many of these prior art inventions relate to tree stands not comprised of the two-part grasping-type tree climbers which provide a number of advantages over other types of stands. Two-part grasping-type tree climbing stands allow the user to place his or her weight on the top section so that the bottom section may be raised and repositioned on the tree, pole or the like. Once the bottom section has been repositioned, the user places his or her weight on the bottom section so that the top section may be raised and repositioned on the tree, pole or the like. When the top section is repositioned, the user then transfers his or her weight to the top section again and repeats the climbing cycle. Advantages of a two-part climbing tree stand include portability, ease and speed of setup, and flexibility of seating position. Additionally, when both the user and the entire tree stand are in an elevated position above a deer's head, the deer is less likely to see or smell the user.
Various arrangements of climbing tree stands exist which have upper and lower climbing members that can be connected by the use of quick-clip pins or other types of fasteners or pins, for example, ball lock pins, detent pins or expanding pins, to change from a tree stand to a two-wheeled cart. The fasteners that are needed to connect the upper and lower climbing members together to form a cart are loose pieces that may be lost or misplaced in the field, rendering the cart feature inoperable. Additionally, to connect the upper and lower climbing members together and apply the fasteners takes time, which may prove to be difficult depending upon the amount of daylight available and the ambient temperature.
What is needed is a climbing tree stand that can be easily and efficiently converted into a cart in a rapid manner without the use of connecting fasteners for the upper and lower climbing members.